The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
The 3rd generation (3G) radio communication network and 2nd generation (2G) radio communication network employ similar structures, as shown in FIG. 1. A 3G or 2G radio communication network includes a Radio Access Network (RAN) and a Core Network (CN). The RAN is adapted to perform all functions related to radio communications while the CN is adapted to process all voice calls and data connections within the radio communication system and the switching and routing to an external network. The CN can be logically divided into a Circuit Switched (CS) Domain and a Packet Switched (PS) Domain. The RAN, CN and Mobile Stations (MS) form a complete 3G or 2G radio communication network.
The RAN usually includes Base Stations (BS) and Base Station Controllers (BSCs). The BS is called Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), IS-95, and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 system. The BS is called Node B in Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) system. The BSC is called Radio Network Controller (RNC) in the WCDMA system. The CDMA2000 also includes a logical entity Packet Control Function (PCF) between the BSC and the Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN), the PCF is used for packet data service support and can be set up in combination with the BSC as a part of the RAN or as an independent entity.
In the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) network defined by Standard 802.16, the RAN is called Access Service Network (ASN); the CN is called Connectivity Service Network (CSN), and the architecture of the WiMAX network is shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the BS can be connected to the CSN via an ASN Gateway (ASN-GW), the BS and the ASN-GW can be set up in a same entity physically or be set up separately; or the BS can be divided into two elements, BTS and BSC, as in the 3G or 2G network.
The networks described above are all radio communication networks, and a brief description on DSL network is given as follows.
The DSL network architecture is evolving from PPP over ATM to Ethernet aggregation and connectivity based IP QoS-enabling architecture, and the architecture of the DSL network in such technology background is shown in FIG. 3.
With reference to FIG. 3, T is a reference point between a Terminal Equipment (TE) in a Customer Premises Network (CPN) and a DSL MOdulator & DEModulator (Modem). U is a reference point between the DSL Modem and a DSL Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) of an access point. In the Access Network, there is an Aggregation Network between the DSLAM and an edge node of DSL network. The edge node of the DSL network may be a Broadband Remote Access Server (BRAS) or a Broad Network Gateway (BNG) or an Edge Router (ER). In FIG. 3, the edge node is a BRAS. V is an Ethernet Aggregation reference point between the DSLAM and the BRAS in the access network. A10 is a reference point between the access network and the Service Provider (SP) and A10 can be used for connecting Application Service Provider (ASP) to a Network Service Provider (NSP) with access network or for connecting the NSP to a visiting access network. The CPN network is connected to the access network with DSL access technique.
At present, the interconnection of the 3G or 2G or WiMAX based radio communication network and the DSL network is a branch of Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) and a goal waiting to be made.
Furthermore, 2G or 2.5G or 3G network adopts E1 or T1 technology for BS transmission with reference to FIG. 42, which is a schematic diagram of E1 networking at the Iub interface of existing WCDMA. WCDMA R99 employs Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) transmission on the Iub interface between the Node B and the RNC. The ATM transmission can be carried by Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), e.g., by E1 or T1. The base station usually adopts multiple line bonding on E1 or T1, i.e., Inverse Multiplex over ATM (IMA), which is shown in FIG. 42 as n*E1. The transmission rate of E1 is 2 MHz and the transmission rate of T1 is 1.5 MHz, therefore, the maximum bandwidth provided by WCDMA for a user is 2 Mbps only.
With the development and construction of radio networks, data services have taken more and more share in radio networks and need far more bandwidth than voice services do. Furthermore, because the prices of data service are low, the share of data services in radio networks will keep growing while radio networks further develop; accordingly data services will need higher and even huge transmission bandwidth, especially when HSDPA or HSUPA and CDMA 1X DO are introduced. For example, in the HSDPA or CDMA 1x Do, 9 Mbps is needed for service traffics on the downlink and 1 Mbps is needed on the uplink, on the physical layer of the HSDPA or CDMA 1x Do, where overheads of lower layers should also be taken into consideration, the transmission rate needs to be 15 Mbps on the downlink and 1.5 Mbps on the uplink.
If operators continue to use E1 or T1 transmission, the rapid development of the networks will be hindered and the profitability of operators will be significantly affected because of high costs and low returns, therefore the BS transmission is a technical problem that needs solution at present.